Restaurants We Love: 12 Grapes, Peekskill

Jun. 16, 2012

Loading Photo Galleries ...

Written by

Mary Lynn Mitcham Strom

For The Journal News

At 12 Grapes, you can choose among 12 red and 12 white wines by the glass, and there are plenty of bottles, too. / Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News

12 Grapes

12 N. Division St., Peekskill; 914-737-6624; 12grapes.com. Hours: Dinner Tuesday-Friday, brunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday. Price: Dinner for two, including wine, $90. Good to know: In the mood for a great show? The Paramount is right around the corner, which makes this restaurant a go-to spot for a pre-show dinner. But you don’t have to head to Peekskill’s most famous theater — 12 Grapes features live music every Thursday through Sunday. Have dinner, then kick back and enjoy!

Also try …

Batonnage Wine Bar, Pleasantville: It’s all about the wine at this Euro-style bar. But if you are hungry, you can pair your glass with a cheese plate, a panino, or even a gourmet pizza (10 Marble Ave., 914-769-4040; batonnagewinebar.com). The Gnarly Vine, New Rochelle: Just-caught seafood, farmers-market finds, and 30 wines by the glass make this cool wine bar a local favorite. Stop in on a Thursday—lobster roll night—when sangria is two-for-one. (501 E. Main St., 914-355-2541; www.thegnarlyvine.com).

Every time we go out to eat, my husband and I encounter a problem: Who gets to choose the wine? He almost always wants a big, red zinfandel from California and I always want a fruit-forward sauvignon blanc from, well, anywhere.

We could order by the glass, but then you end up spending more than you would for a bottle, and for less-interesting wines. Besides, what local restaurants do you know that offer sauvignon blanc and California zins by the glass, anyway?

In Peekskill, I only know one: 12 Grapes. Just a block away from the Paramount Theater, the restaurant serves 12 reds and 12 whites by the glass, so my husband and I can kick back with the grape that we enjoy most without a single marital compromise. The wines rotate several times a year, and you’ll find some big-name wines like the Sebastiani Chardonnay and some lesser-known finds, like the Chilean Matetic EQ Sauvignon Blanc, a perfect way to toast summer.

On a recent visit, I found everything from sauvignon blanc to pinot gris to albariño on the white-wine menu, and everything from pinot noir to sangiovese to merlot to malbec and even that California zin on the red list. (There are plenty of bottles to choose from, too.) And no need to stress about choosing the right wine: It’s all good — and affordable, too. Owner Rich Credidio has spent the last 30 years developing his palate at fine-dining restaurants, wineries, and tastings, and he chooses wines that are both interesting and smart buys.

The restaurant is casual — wood floors, purple linen table cloths, rattan chairs — so dress up if you like, or not at all. French doors line the front wall, and on warm nights, the staff is happy to throw them open for open-air dining. Options are endless on chef Anthony Maisano’s New American menu — pasta, fish, poultry, game, you name it — so having 24 wines by the glass makes sense. And while it’s not the most cutting-edge culinary hot spot in Westchester, the food is solid, ranging from mostly good to really good.

One night I started with the Coriander-Crusted Sea Scallops, which arrived on a bed of arugula. The scallops were chewier than they’re supposed to be, and I didn’t detect much coriander, but that EQ Sauvignon Blanc hit the spot, with light fruity tones picking up on the peppery arugula. The Lobster Dumplings, basically fried lobster ravioli, are a better choice. They come with a sweet Thai dipping sauce and, though they can be a little doughy around the rim, in the center that lobster is tasty. But the best appetizer — the one I still think about — is the Whiskey BBQ Chicken Wings. The wings are marinated in a sweet and tangy whiskey barbecue sauce that would usually make me long for a beer, but the La Cana Albariño Spanish white wine did just fine.

(Page 2 of 2)

For dinner, go with the pasta. One night I had one of my favorite Italian dishes: Orecchiette With Sausage and Broccoli Rabe. Ordinarily, I love the simple way the sweetness of the sausage and the bitterness of the broccoli rabe play off each other, but here there’s even more to love. The dish comes with big robust shrimp (my half-portion had two) and oven-roasted tomatoes, which not only add more sweetness but also kept the pasta moist.

My Tuscan Sangiovese blend, a 2008 Capezzana, picked up on the garlic, the red pepper flakes and just about everything else going on in the dish.

Another visit, I had the Mushroom Ravioli, a dish you can order as an appetizer or an entrée. Paper-thin wontons are stuffed with all kinds of mushrooms and topped with a Parmesan cream sauce that’s decadent enough to showcase the filling without overpowering it. Again, the Capezzana was a great match.

My husband had the Duck With Plum Sauce, a perfect choice for his Argentinian cabernet, Viña Alicia. The meat was tender, cooked to a warm, pink medium-rare, and the wine’s rich berry flavors added another dimension to the fruity reduction.

Though 12 Grapes offers a huge selection of desserts — the Chocolate Lava Cake is irresistible, and the Strawberry Gelato ultracreamy — true oenophiles will want just one thing: another round.